Movies like Ancient Builders of the Amazon (2023)
The best movies like Ancient Builders of the Amazon (2023) are Unknown: Cave of Bones (2023), Explorer: The Last Tepui (2022) and Girl Rising (2013). If Ancient Builders of the Amazon hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedZero Days (2016)7.4/10 from 273 votes
- NewestMundurukuyü – The Forest of the Fish Women (2026)Released 2026
Unknown: Cave of Bones (2023)
Scientists examine underground clues from over 250,000 years ago that raise questions about our early relatives — and what it truly means to be human.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExplorer: The Last Tepui (2022)
This documentary starring climber Alex Honnold and famous biologist Bruce Means document their expedition to the South American sky islands in search of new species and discoveries. Follows elite climber Alex Honnold and a world-class climbing team led by National Geographic Explorer and climber Mark Synnott on a grueling mission deep in the Amazon jungle as they attempt a first-ascent climb up a 1000 foot sheer cliff.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl Rising (2013)
Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnthropocene: The Human Epoch (2018)
Documentary on psychedelic potash mines, expansive concrete seawalls, mammoth industrial machines, and other examples of humanity’s massive, destructive reengineering of the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSouth of the Border (2009)
A road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media's misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this180° South (2010)
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnknown: The Lost Pyramid (2023)
Egyptian archaeologists dig into history, discovering tombs and artifacts over 4,000 years old as they search for a buried pyramid in this documentary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSecrets of the Neanderthals (2024)
This documentary delves into the mysteries surrounding the Neanderthals and what their fossil record tells us about their lives and disappearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecrets of the Saqqara Tomb (2020)
This documentary follows a team of local archaeologists excavating never before explored passageways, shafts, and tombs, piecing together the secrets of Egypt’s most significant find in almost 50 years in Saqqara.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEarth: One Amazing Day (2017)
An astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands to exotic jungles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarmontown (2014)
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShowrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show (2014)
“Showrunners” is the first ever feature length documentary film to explore the fascinating world of US television showrunners and the creative forces aligned around them. These are the people responsible for creating, writing and overseeing every element of production on one of the United State’s biggest exports – television drama and comedy series. Often described as the most complex job in the entertainment business, a showrunner is the chief writer / producer on a TV series and, in most instances, the show’s creator. Battling daily between art and commerce, showrunners manage every aspect of a TV show’s development and production: creative, financial and logistical.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBehind the Planet of the Apes (1998)
Roddy McDowall takes you, film by film, from production meetings to make-up sessions, then right onto the movie set to see the actual filming of the science fiction masterpiece. The most comprehensive history of Planet of the Apes ever created, this fascinating 127-minute documentary explores one of the most imaginative and influential series in movie history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye (2022)
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020)
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)
Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France, capturing the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind in their astonishing natural setting.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZero Days (2016)
Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo the End of the World in a Trabant (2014)
The third installment in Dan Přibáň's series of travel documentaries describes the author's journey with his friends across South America in vehicles that are often notorious but cult in their own way. The charming dynamics of the group on screen are further enhanced by the high-quality craftsmanship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Viking Warrior Women (2019)
Drama-led documentary following the life of Signe, an orphaned Chief's daughter, who, driven by revenge, becomes an explorer and trader in the lands of the Rus Vikings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Le mystère Atlit Yam - 10 000 ans sous les mers (2013)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
El Dorado : où se trouve la mystérieuse cité d'or ? (2026)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Le mystère Cléopâtre, la dernière reine d'Egypte (2019)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Caligula with Mary Beard (2013)
What is true and what is false in the hideous stories spread about the controversial figure of the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (12-41), nicknamed Caligula? Professor Mary Beard explains what is accurate and what is mythical in the historical accounts that portray him as an unbalanced despot. Was he a sadistic tyrant, as Roman historians have told, or perhaps the truth about him was manipulated because of political interests?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Mundurukuyü – The Forest of the Fish Women (2026)
Using the camera as a weapon to defend their ancestral land in Brazil, three women of the Daje Kapap Eypi audiovisual collective lovingly record their Munduruku traditions and their mythology of humans transforming into forest plants and animals.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Paid in Blood (2025)
After surviving the massacre in which the police killed ten landless workers in Pará’s Amazon region, Fernando dos Santos becomes the only survivor to reveal his identity and testify. Still shaken, he recounts how the police murdered his boyfriend and tortured his companions, yet the film portrays him as far more than a victim: a courageous man who left the city’s comfort to chase the dream of owning land, using humor and intelligence to endure the solitude of being a gay man in rural Brazil. Alongside him is José Vargas, an idealistic lawyer defending the survivors and their right to justice. As he faces threats and isolation, the film exposes the human cost of truth, resilience, and the struggle for dignity in a land scarred by violence and inequality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Mystery of the Rascar Capac Mummy (2019)
Rascar Capac, the sinister creature featured on Hergé's album The Seven Crystal Balls (1948), has left its mark on many generations of readers. To draw it, the Belgian cartoonist was probably inspired by a mummy exhibited in the first pre-Columbian exhibition organized by the Brussels Cinquantenaire Museum in 1923. Two intrepid archaeologists embark on a fascinating journey to reconstruct the story of the mysterious mummy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Like Ancient Builders of the Amazon and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ancient Builders of the Amazon?
The closest matches to Ancient Builders of the Amazon are Unknown: Cave of Bones (2023), Explorer: The Last Tepui (2022) and Girl Rising (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ancient Builders of the Amazon?
Start with Unknown: Cave of Bones (2023), the closest match to Ancient Builders of the Amazon.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ancient Builders of the Amazon?
Zero Days (2016), rated 7.4/10 by 273 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ancient Builders of the Amazon?
Mundurukuyü – The Forest of the Fish Women (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ancient Builders of the Amazon?
Yes: Unknown: Cave of Bones (2023), Explorer: The Last Tepui (2022) and Girl Rising (2013).
How are movies similar to Ancient Builders of the Amazon chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ancient Builders of the Amazon, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.